Researching the Revolution Using New England’s Hidden Histories

This summer, the CLA presents a new way to explore the American Revolution at its 250th anniversary. In a five-week online class hosted on Zoom, participants will learn about the history of Congregationalists in the American Revolution and conduct research into a related project of their choosing with expert guidance from the instructors. The class will use the CLA’s two new exhibitions, Religion of Revolution and Sacred Rebellion, along with the New England’s Hidden Histories digital archive to examine the relationship between Congregationalism and the creation of the United States.

The class will be led by Dr. Kyle Roberts (CLA Executive Director) and Dr. Tricia Peone (NEHH Project Director). Course topics will include an introduction to researching with church records on a digital platform, overviews of the American Revolution and Congregational history, uncovering the histories of marginalized New Englanders, and how to craft a research project.

Each week participants will discuss and interpret primary source documents and learn about religious life during the Revolutionary era. The course will conclude with participants sharing a small research project of their own design.

Email any questions to nehh@14beacon.org.

SPEAKER BIOS

Dr. Kyle Roberts was appointed the Executive Director of the Congregational Library & Archives in 2022. He received his BA in American Studies from Williams College and his PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to the CLA, he was Associate Director of Library & Museum Programming at the American Philosophical Society and Associate Professor of Public History and New Media and Director of the Center for Textual Studies and Digital Humanities at Loyola University Chicago.

A scholar of Atlantic World religion, print, and library history, he is the author of Evangelical Gotham: Religion and the Making of New York City, 1783-1860 (Chicago, 2016), the co-editor, with Stephen Schloesser, of Crossings and Dwellings: Restored Jesuits, Women Religious, American Experience 1814-2014 (Brill, 2017) and, with Mark Towsey, of Before the Public Library: Reading, Community, and Identity in the Atlantic World, 1650-1850 (Brill, 2017).

Kyle is an accomplished public historian and digital humanist whose collaborative projects include the Jesuit Libraries Provenance Project, the Maryland Loyalism Project, and Dissenting Academies Online: Virtual Library System. In addition to being the consultant for numerous digital and public history projects, he sits on the executive committees of the American Catholic Historical Association, the New England Historical Association, the Urban History Association He is on the editorial and advisory boards for American Catholic Studies, Early American Studies, and portal.

Dr. Tricia Peone joined the CLA in 2022 as the Project Director for New England’s Hidden Histories. Prior to joining the CLA, she was a research scholar at Historic New England for the Recovering New England’s Voices project. She has also previously worked as the public programs director at New Hampshire Humanities, a university lecturer teaching classes on the Salem witch trials, early New England, and public history, and as a researcher for cultural heritage organizations. She holds a PhD in history from the University of New Hampshire with a specialization in the early modern Atlantic world and history of science.